Aeroplane



G. C. ST. LOUIS AND C. PEARSON.

AERPLANE. Mmc/umn FILED A0226. 191s.

Patented Dee. 30,1919.

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244. AtHUNl-w i me UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIcE.

GEORGE C. ST. LOUIS AND CALVIN PEARSON, OF FRESNO, CALIFORNIA.

AEROPLANE.

Speeication of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 30, 1919.

Application filed August 26, 1918. Serial No. 251,394.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that we, GEORGE C. ST. LoUIs and CALVIN PEAnsoN, both citizens of the United States of America, residing at Fresno, in the county of Fresno and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Aeroplanes; and we do declare the following to be a clear, full, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,

l and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this application.

This invention relates to improvements in aeroplanes and particularly with respect to that type shown in United States Patent No. 1,195,290, dated the 22nd day of August, 1916, and No. 1,290,847, dated the .7th day of January, 1919; and the application filed in the United States Patent Office April 18th, 1918, Serial No. 229,370; to which application reference is particularly made.

The object of the invention is to provide an aeroplane of the tandem biplane type with suitable means whereby the relative angle between the front and rear plane sections may be adjusted at will and. held through a wide range of angles while in flight.

This is a necessary feature owing to the fact that the weight of two successive p assengers is never the same, and hence with rigidly fixed angles between the front and rear plane sections perfect fore and aft balance could never be obtained, fo-r the angle which would give perfect balance with one Weight would be unsuitable for another weight. l

With this in mind, therefore, we have applied an adjusting means to the rear plane section which is controllable by the pilot at any time, whereby such pilot may, by careful manipulation thereof, find the point at which the center of pressure movement on the two wings would neutralize one another, and consequently a perfect'fore and aft balance would be attained.

This control once set at the outset ofa Hight, would not need to be touched again during the same ight unless some of the weights aboard, such as bombs, etc., were dropped.

As the object of the device, as stated, is to change the relative angles. between the front and rear plane sections, it is of course necessary to apply it only to one section, andi the reason for selecting. the rear section is that the weight toward the rear is the one most likely to be variable.

A further object is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly eflicient for the purposes for which it is designed.

These objects we accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of the parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the, following specification and claims.

On the drawings, similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the complete aeroplane, partly broken out to show a con- Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the numeral l designates the fuselage or body of the machine which is of approximately stream line form and has a suitable pilots seat 2 therein. front and rear supporting wheels 3 and carries of course the engine, passengers and fuel and in addition supports the lifting plane structure when the machine is on the ground.

These lifting' plane structures are pivotally attached to the body and consist of two biplane units 4 and 5 arranged in tandem or with one unit to the rear of the other when in flight.

Cross rods 6 pivotally connect the rear of the front plane 4 with the front of the rear plane 5, as at 6a.

Backward and forward motion of the planes about their pivotal points 4a is controlled by cables 7 suitably connected with means operable from the steering wheel 8 near the pilots seat. This control means and the actual construction of the plane sections is more fully shown and described in the co-pending application, Serial No. 229,370, filed April 18, 1918. This motion of the planes changes the angle of incidence of both planes with regard to the body.

To change the relative angles between the front and rear plane sections, the pivotal point of the rear section with the body is a rod or shaft 9 passing through the body. This rod is rigidly attached to the plane structure and is turnably mounted in blocks The body is mounted on 10 adapted to travel in slots 11 formed in the sides of the body l.

Clamping lugs 12 depend downwardly from the blocks 10 and are clamped to endless cables or chains 13 passing around idler sheaves 14: secured to the body at the rear of the slots and around drums or sprocket wheels 15 keyed to a shaft 16 passing under the seat 2. At one side of the seat is a lever 17 also keyed to the shaft, the position of such lever when set in any desired position being maintained by means of a notched quadrant 18 or similar device.

Thus when it is desired to change the relative angles of the front and rear plane sections, the lever 17 is pulled or pushed as the case may be. This causes the pivotal shaft 9 to move forward or backward in the slot 11. The rear plane section 5 will then turn about the upper pivotal point 6a as an axis, and the plane structure being rigidly secured to the shaft 9, the plane section will tilt upward or downward at its rear end from the point 6a, which point is stationary relative to the movement of the shaft 9.

When the right fore and aft balance has been attained by the movement of the shaft. 9, the lever 17 is positioned in the notched quadrant 18, and it will be evident that if the two plane sections are caused to move together to change the angle of incidence between them and the body, the difference in angle between the two plane sections will remain as set by the lever 17 no matter what position the planes may assume with regard to the body.

From the foregoing description it will readily be seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfils the objects of the invention, as set forth herein.

Vhile this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. An aeroplane comprising ybiplanes arranged in tandem, a body suspended below the same, the lower planes being pivotally Connected with the body at points forward of their transverse centers, means whereby the angle of the rear planes relative to the front planes may be altered at will and means common to both biplanes for altering the angles of both biplanes relative to the body, such means being independent of the means for altering the relative plane-angles.

2. An aeroplane comprising biplanes ari ranged in tandem, a body suspended below the same, the lower planes being pivotally connected with the body at points forward of their transverse centers and the adjacent ends of the upper planes being pivotally connect-ed by connecting rods, means common to both biplanes for altering the angle of both biplanes relative to the body, and means whereby the pivotal point of the lower rear plane may be moved back and forth in the body about the pivotal point of the upper plane with the connecting rods as an axis, whereby the angle of the rear planes relative to the front planes may be altered at will.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE C. ST. LOUIS. CALVIN PEARSON.

Witnesses VERADINE WARNER, BERNARD PRIVAT. 

